Double-deck vehicle



1,604,777 A E HUTT DbUBLE DECK VEHICLE Filed Jan. 4, 1926 3 sheets sheet 1 Get. 26 1926.

INVENTOR:

ATTORNEYS.

3 Sheets-Shet 2 A. E. HUTT DOUBLE DECK VEHI CLE Fil'ed Jan. 4, 1926 Oct. 26 1926.

, ATTORNEYS.

Oct. 26 1926.

A. E. HUTT DOUBLE DECK VEHICL Filed Jan. 4, 1926 s Sheets-Sheet a INVENTOR:

Patented Oct. 26, 1926.-

ALBERT E. HUTT, OF ARDMORE, PENNSYLVANIA.

DOUBLE-DECK VEHICLE.

Applicationflled January 4. 1928. Serial No. 79,067.

The extensive use of double deck vehicles and more particularly motor buses, has been retarded to a large extent by the excessive height of these vehicles, which has made it necessary to have a considerable overhead clearance for safe operation; many localities having been unable to use them at all on account of the presence of low bridges, trolley wires, viaducts andthe like on the proposed routes. The tendency therefore has been to design these vehicles as low as possible, and various expedients have been resorted to to attain this end, with indifi'erent results, since most of these devices have sacrificed efficient seating arrangements in favor of small overall height.

The main object of my invention, generally stated, is to provide a double deck vehicle of a minimum overall height, and to conserve at the same time the most desirable and efficient seating arrangements.

To this end, I have designed a novel double deck vehicle in which the seats of the lower deck are placed on each side of the lower central longitudinal aisle and are faced forward, the ceiling of said lower compartment over the seating portions being igher than the average seatedpassenger, but lower than the average standing passenger, and the ceiling over the central aisle being higher than the height of the average standing passenger, so that passengers moving to or from their seats in the lower central aisle, may do 'so without having to stoop over.

In my invention, I couple the lower deck construction aforesaid with a novel seating arrangement for the upper deck which allows all the upper deck seats to face forward and at the same time reduces the overall'height of the vehicle to. a minimum. In my novel construction the upper deck seats not only face forwardly but they are placed in the depressed longitudinal outboard portions immediately over the lower deck seats, and the upper deck central aisle is placed vertically above the lower deck central aisle and therefore on the raised central portion of the lower deck roof. It is therefore only necessary, in my novel construction, when taking or leaving an upper deck seat, to step down or up, as the case may be, from the raised upper deck center aisle to the seat space, or from the seat space to the center aisle; and to facilitate ingress and egress to which spring action is overcome by the weight of the passenger when the seat is occupied; and under each movable seat section, I have placed a step better to enable the passengers to step into or out of the depressed seat space, said step being covered by the movable seat section when down, and being consequently out of the way when the seat is in use by the passenger.

In addition to the advantage of minimum overall height obtained by m novel constructlon, it is also quite evi ent that the passengers on the upper deck are better protected from the elements due to the upper deck passengers knees and legs being protected on the inboard sides by the permanent deck structure, and in addition the upper deck passengers bodies are efiectively protected, since I can completely inclose the upper deck seating space against wind, rain, snow and cold, when desired and 'still keep the effective overall height of the vehicle within, a minimum.

It will further be apparent that by providing ventilators from the lower compartment to the seating portions of the upper compartment, it is possible in cold weather to considerably raise the temperature of said seating portions on the upper deck through the warm air rising from the heated lower compartment to the inclosed portions of the upper compartment.

To the above ends, my invention consists of a novel construction of a low center of gravity double deck bus, wherein the seats on both the upper and lower decks all face forwardly, the upper deck seats being positioned in depressed, longitudinally, extending, outboard portions on either side of the raised upper central aisle, whereby the space on each side of said upper deck is utilized in a novel manner, said upper deck seats being preferably made in sections, the outboard seat sections being stationary,

' tionary seat support positioned at the joint between the movable andstationary seat sections, and there being steps located under said movable seat sections which are concealed thereunder when said movable seatsections are down or in use, said steps being visible and accessible to the incoming or outgoing upper deck passengers when said movable seat sections are in raised position.

It further consists in the novel combination of two rows of forwardly facing upper deck seats of the character described, positioned along the longitudinal depressed outboard portions above the lower deck roof, so that space is utilized which has heretofore been wasted and in addition I am enabled to maintain the semi-enclosed upper deck roof structure with respect to the upper deck seats, so that said roof structure while being above the heads of the seated passengers on the upper deck will be still further below the heads of standing passengers traversing the upper deck central aisle.

It further consists of the novel upper deck bus construction of the character above specified, wherein provision is made for closing the inboard upper deck portions for each row of upper deck seats according to requirements.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention I have shown in the accompanying drawings, several forms thereof which are at present preferred by me, since the same have been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organlzed and that my invention is not limited to the pre-.

cise arrangement and organization of the instrumeni'alities as herein shown and described. I

invention, the section being taken on-line" 11, Figure 2.

Figure 2, represents a plan view of aportion of the structure seen in Figure 1.

Figure 3, represents on a reduced scale a section on line 33, Figure 1.

Figure 4, represents on a reduced scale, a side elevation of Figure 1.

Figure 5, represents on an enlarged scale a perspective view of a portion of the upper and lower deck structure. 7

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts.

1 designates my novel construction of a double deck vehicle, the same comprising the lower deck 2 and the upper deck 3, 4 designating part of the roof of the lower deck which serves as the ceiling of the lower deck and the floor of the upper deck. The upper deck 2 is provided with a central aisle 5, and transverse seats 6 on each side thereof facing forwardly. The floor of the upper deck 18 composed of the horizontal longitudinal, depressed outboard portions 4 already referred to, which mer e into the upwardlyconverging walls 7, WhlCh extend to the floor 8 pt the central aisle 9, it being apparent that the latter is in a higher plane than the portions 4, whereon the upper deck seats are located.

It will be seen that the horizontal floor portions 4, are positioned so as to be above the heads of the average sized seated pas-' sengers on the lower deck, while the floor 8 is of such height, as to be above the head of the average standing passengers using the lower deck central aisle 5. The upper deck transverse seats all face forwardly and comprise the stationary or fixed seat sections 10 and the movable seat sections 11, which are hinged at their rear in any suitable manner and are normally retained in their upper or closed position by a suitable spring 12. 13 designates astep which is supported in any suitable manner within the inclined wall 7 or in the depressed seat section so as to be directly under the hinged seat 11 when the latter is down or in horizontal position. When said movable seat member is raised the step 13 will be visible or accessible to the passengers as will be understood from Figure 2. 14 designates seatsupports or posts, which are secured to the upper deck floor 4 in any suitable manner and may be flanged or widened at their tops as indicated at 15, so as to support the contiguous or juxtaposed edges of the stationary and movable seat sections 10 and 11. From the top of the upper deck side walls 16, extend inwardly the upper deck roof sections 17 of the upper deck which are constructed so as to be slightly above the head of the average seated upper deck passengers and below the head of the average standing passenger as he moves about in the upper deck central aisle 9. 18 designates longitudinally extending hand rails on the sides above the inner edges of the upper deck roof sections for the passengers to grasp as they move about in the upper deck central aisle. 19 designates curtain rollers carrying curtains or shades 20 whose edges "are guided in the ways 21. In the right hand portion of Figure 1, I have shown the curtain 20 as" pulled downwardly. On the opposite side I have shown the curtain 21 as rolled up. 22 des' ignates ventilators which are located in the inclined walls 7 at different points and III closed portions of the upper com artment to heat the latter. 23 designates t e transversely extendin water conduits for the purpose of draining water that may fallon the upper deck aisle, said conduits extending transversely of the upper deck and dlschargin at the outboard portion thereof.

In practice I construct my novel bus structure so that the roof 17 of the upper deck is a proximately 8 feet 8 inches from the cl assis level. The preferred distance from the chassis level to the 'floor of. the upper deck central aisle is approximately 7 3 inches and the distance from the floor of the upper deck 4 to the roof 17 of the upper deck is approximately 52 inches which is the same as the distance from the chassis level to the upper deck floor 4.

By the employment of the foregoin dimensions, which can obviously be change according to requirements, I am enabled to produce a double deck vehicle having a maximum upper and lower seating capacity which will be symmetrical and perfectly balanced and in addition will have the lowest center of gravity of any double deck Vehlcle with which I am familiar.

By reason of my novel construction it will be apparent that reasonably high speed can be maintained on long distance runs with double deck buses of my novel construction, which it is not safe to maintain with double deck bus of the present type. A low center of gravity double deck bus of my novel construction can be operated with safety under ordinary road conditions at a speed approximating forty miles per hour, whereas in double deck buses of the conventional type a speed of 20 to 25 miles per hour would in practice be considered a maximum safe speed. 24 designates a rear enclosed stairway, which is accessible through the rear, lower outer doors 25, the lower compartment being also provided with front, outer doors 26.

It will be apparent that the movable upper deck seat sections 11 will normally appear closed or standing upright as seen in Figures 1 and 3 and the upper left hand portion of Figure 2 at which time the step 13 is always visible and accessible, as is evident. Especial attention is called to the novel upper deck construction, whereby the inboard Walls 7 serve effectively to protect the extremities of the upper deck inboard seated passengers from the elements since the top of said walls 7 extends a short distance above the lap of the seated passengers, and in case further protection from the elements is desired, the curtain 20 can be pulled downwardly by the seated passenger without leaving the seat, and can be secured at the point 27, see Figure 1, thus affording complete protection from the elements. In the lower left hand portion of Figure 2 I have shown the movable seat section 11 as down, and concealin the, step 13. At the left hand por- It will be apparent that the partition between the lower and upper compartment, which serves as the ceiling for the lower compartment and the floor for the upper compartment which is designated as composed of the portions, 4, 7 and 9 will in practice preferably be made in sections, which may be joined together and braced and supported in any suitable manner, which it is unnecessary to describe in detail.

The fixed ends of the flat springs 12 may be secured in fixed position at any suitable point by any suitable means, so long as the free ends of said springs contact with the under side of the inboard seat sections, so as to cause the same normally to stand vertical as will be understood from Fig. 3. The enclosed stairway 24 which I employ is preferably constructed in accordance with a prior patent granted to me, but it will be understood that other forms of stairways may be employed and the stairway may be located in different positions from that shown in Figure 2 without departing from the spirit of my invention. The seat sections 10 and 11 are preferably shown of different lengths, the movable inboard seat section 11 being preferably shorter than the "outboard fixed seat section 10, since by this construction there is less liability of the clothing of an occupant of the outboard stationary seat .10 being caught between the two seats when the seat 11 is actuated or depressed.

1 It will of course be understood that the seat sections 10 and 11 can :be made of the same length, in which case the supports M would be moved outwardly from the position seen in Fig. 1.

In the construction seen in Figure 5 I have for clearness of illustration shown the semienclosed upper top entirely removed but it will be apparent that a semi-enclosed to of the character seen in the other figures o the drawings may be employed if desired. In Figure 5 I have shown short stanchions 28 as being positioned at the inboard ends of the upper deck seats for enabling the passengers to steady themselves as they move about in the upper aisle.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction of double deck vehicle which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description and while I have in the present instance shown and described the preferred embodiments thereof which have been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that the same are susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or sco e of the invention or sacrlficmg any of its a vantages.

aving thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Ina double deck vehicle, an upper deck having a raised, central, longitudinal aisle and longitudinally extending, depressed outboard seat supporting spaces, forwardly facing transverse, upper deck seats in the latter on each side of said aisle, said seats extending from the outer portions of said spaces to the side walls of said aisle and being he low the floor level of said aisle, and upper roof sections extending inwardly above said upper transverse seats, but terminating short of said aisle, said roof sections being higher than the average seated passenger and below the head of the average passenger standing in said aisle.

2. In a double deck vehicle, an upper deck having a raised, central, longitudinal aisle, and longitudinally extending depressed outboard seat supporting spaces, forwardly facing, transverse, upper deck seats in the latter on each side of said aisle, said seats extending from the outer portions of said spaces to the side walls of said aisle and being below the floor level of said aisle, roof sections extending inwardly above said upper transverse seats but terminating short of said aisle, said roof sections being higher than the average seated passenger and below' the head of the average passenger standing in said aisle, andadjustable closures for the inner end of each seat extending from the head of the average passenger standing in inner termini of said roof sections to the upper outer corners of said central aisle.

3. In a double deck vehicle, an upper deck having a raised central longitudinal aisle, and longitudinally extending depressed outboard seat supporting spaces, forwardly facing transverse upper deck sectional seats in the latter on each side of said aisle, said seats extending from the outer portions of said spaces to the side walls of said aisle and being below the floor level of said aisle, means for retaining one of said seat sections normally in raised position, and roof sections extending inwardly above said upper transverse seats but terminating short of said aisle, said roof sections being higher than the average seated passenger and below the said aisle.

4. In a double deck vehicle, an upper deck,

having a' raised central longitudinal aisle and longitudinally extending depressed, outboard seat supporting spaces, and'forwardly facing transverse, upper deck seats in the latter on each side of said aisle, said seats extending transversely from the outer portions of said spaces to the side walls'of said aisle and being below the floor level of said aisle, whereby the extremities of the inboard seated passengers are protected.

5. In a double deck vehicle, an upper deck,

having a raised central longitudinal aisle and longitudinally extending, depressed, outboard seat supporting spaces, forwardly facing sectional seats in the latter on each side of said aisle, said seats being below the floor level of said aisle, whereby the extremities of the inboard seated passengers are protected, and means for maintaining normally in raised position the inboard seat sections.

6. In a double deck vehicle, an upper deck, having a raised central longitudinal aisle and longitudinally extending, depressed, outboard seat supporting spaces, forwardly facing sectional seats in the latter on each side edges thereof, and means for retaining one of the seat sections, normally sition.

8. In a device of the character stated, an upper deck, a raised central longitudinally extending aisle therefor, a transverse sectional upper deck seat arranged at a side of said aisle, a supporting post for the seat sections positioned at the junction of the edges thereof, and means for retaining one of the seat sections, normally in raised position, in combination with a step below said movable seat section and visible when the in raised polatter isup and invisible when said movable seat section is down and in use.

9. In a device of the character stated, an upper deck, a raised central longitudinally extending aisle therefor, a transverse sectional upper deck seat arranged at a side of said aisle, the inboard portion of said seat being shorter than the outboard portion thereof, a supporting post located at the meeting of the juxtaposed edges of said seat sections, and means for'retaining said inboard seat section normally in raised position.

a 10. In a device of the character stated, an

upper deck, a raised central longitudinally extending aisle therefor, atransverse sectional upper deck seat arranged at a side of said aisle, the inboard portion of said seat being shorter than the; outboard portion thereof, a sup ort'ing'post located atthe meeting of'the uxtaposed edges of saidseat sections, and means for retaining said inboard seat sectlon normally in raised position, in combination with a step below said inboard movable seat section, which is accessible when the latter is up.

11. In a bus, an upper deck having a raised, central longitudinal aisle, and opposite, longitudinally extending, depressed, outboard seat supporting spaces, forwardly facing, transverse, upper deck seats in the latter on each side of said aisle, extending transversely from the outer portions of said spaces to the side walls of said aisle and being below the floor level of said aisle, whereby the extremities of the inboard seated passengers are protected, and roof sections extending inwardly above said upper transverse seats, but terminating short of said aisle, said roof sections being higher than the average seated passenger and lower than the average standing passenger, in combination with curtains which unroll from the inner termini of said roof sections to the upper outer corners of said central aisle.

.12. In a bus, an upper deck having a raised, central longitudinal aisle, and opposite, longitudinally extending, depressed, outboard seat supporting spaces, forwardly facing, transverse upper deck seats in the latter on each side of said aisle, extending transversely from the outer portions of said spaces to the side walls of said aisle and being below the floor level of said aisle, whereby the extremities of the inboard'seated passengers are protected, and roof sections extending inwardly above said upper transverse seats, but terminating short of said aisle, said roof sections being higher than the average seated passenger and lower than the average standing passenger, in combination with longitudinally extending ourtain rolls positioned at the inner termini of said roof sections, curtain ways extending therefrom to the upper outer corners of said central aisle, and curtains carried by said' rolls and movable in said ways.

13. In a double deck vehicle, an upper deck having a raised central longitudinal aisle, and opposite longitudinally extending depressed outboard seat supporting spaces,

forwardly facing transverse upper deck seats .in the latter on each side of said aisle exaisle, so as to allow upper deck passengers to step down into or out of the depressed seat section without having to bend their bodies unnecessarily in doing so, said roof section being higher than the average seated passenger and lower than the average standing passenger, roof supporting members extending from the'inboard edges of said roof sections to the outer edges of said upper deck aisle, said supporting members being positioned approximately in line with the backs of the upper deck seats and means for closing the openings bounded by each pair of such supporting members, the inner edge of the roof sections and the outer edge of the aisle.

ALBERT E. HUTT. 

